


Things Are Seldom What They Seem

by Skater2



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2013-01-18
Packaged: 2017-11-22 10:24:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 20,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/608808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skater2/pseuds/Skater2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Aaron Hotchner receives a phone call from an old adversary from his days as a prosecutor, he agrees to help.  However, he didn't count on a lady named Heather.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The usual disclaimers. I don't own anything to do with CM which is probably covered by a multitude of copyrights.
> 
> This started as one of a group of scripts I wrote for the TV series. However, as my chances of pitching them to the powers that be are nil, I decided to see if I could turn this one into prose. Expect to see lots of dialog without much description. As this was originally planned to be a TV script it is definitely PG (not, unfortunately Penelope Garcia, although she is definitely in it)

"What the heck was wrong with him?” Earl Blanchard thought as he picked through his ties. He was dealing with a slight case of the sniffles, but there was no way that could be causing the upset stomach he seemed to be suffering from this morning. As the stomach pains got worse, he doubled over and began vomiting.

Weakened, he tried to call for help, but at this early hour no one was in the vicinity of his dressing room to hear him. The retching became worse, and soon he began foaming at the mouth.

Alone in his dressing room, Earl Blanchard, President and CEO of Carr Industries, died a slow, painful death.


	2. Chapter 1

Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner was always at his desk early. It was just easier if he came straight in after dropping Jack at school. He could have gone home or stopped off for coffee, but he enjoyed the feeling of being in control that he got from being the first one in the office.

This morning he was reading and signing routine paperwork when his desk phone rang. Answering it, he noticed that the call was coming in on his direct line and that the caller ID showed a blocked number. Curious - Not many people had this number.

“Agent Hotchner,” His routine phone greeting.

“Agent Hotchner, I don’t know if you remember me, my name is Arthur Maxwell. We met when you were a prosecutor.” The man’s voice sounded confident.

“I certainly do remember you, Mr. Maxwell. I attempted to put you away for racketeering, money laundering, and prostitution. Unfortunately, I didn’t succeed.” Hotchner remembered the case well, one of his few losses in the courtroom. It still rankled him.

“I see I made an impression,” Mr. Maxwell seemed relieved. “I am hoping you can let bygones be bygones. I have a series of real crimes which have been committed and I need your help. And your discretion,” he added.

“The FBI generally doesn’t get involved in any investigation unless invited in by the local authorities. Have we heard from them?” Hotch thought he needed to make that point clear from the beginning.

Mr. Maxwell seemed unfazed, “Actually, No, but this situation crosses several state lines and I believe under those circumstances these crimes do fall under your jurisdiction.”

Hotch thought for a minute. It must be something serious for a man like Arthur Maxwell to be calling him. His type generally went out of their way to avoid all law enforcement officials.

Hotchner replied carefully, “I’m listening.” He hoped he wouldn’t regret it.


	3. Chapter 3

Hotch stood at the front of the conference room watching his team straggle in. He made an imposing figure in his custom made suit, and he knew it. Early on in his career he had decided that whatever it took to keep his image as a leader intact, he would do it. Thus, regardless of the circumstances, he was properly dressed.

An hour earlier he had text messaged his team and requested that everyone show up as quickly as possible. His first message had been to his computer guru, Penelope Garcia, and had included several additional requests.

As soon as everyone was seated, Garcia handed out the files she had prepared and he began.

“Early this morning Earl Blanchard was found dead in his home in Delaware. Local authorities who were called to investigate suspect poison. Mr. Blanchard was President and CEO of Carr Industries, a prominent defense contractor.”

Garcia put a picture of Earl Blanchard on the screen, along with a picture of his company’s headquarters.

Hotch continued, “Ten days ago, Wendell Loomis was found dead in his home in York, Pennsylvania. Again, authorities suspect poison. Lab results have not yet come back. Mr. Loomis was CFO of ADC Corp. While the company doesn’t have any direct contracts with the DOD, they do supply other companies that have such contracts.”

Pictures of Wendell Loomis and his company headquarters appeared on the screen.

After a brief pause to let everyone look at the pictures, Hotch continued, “Approximately six weeks ago, Carl Wilson also died. He was at his cabin in the Appalachian Mountains at the time and his body wasn’t discovered for several days. As there weren’t any obvious wounds or indications of foul play, poison is suspected. Mr. Wilson was the CEO of Agar, Inc., which has no ties to the DOD or any other government agency.

A third set of pictures appeared on the screen.

“Currently, we have nothing to tie these three deaths together. None of the men appear to be acquainted or to have frequented the same social circles. Their homes and businesses are in different states, separated by hundreds of miles. However, the manner of death is consistent and all three had recently attended classes at the Institute of Business Betterment, in Reston, Virginia, prior to their death.” Hotch took a breath and went for the finish.

“This morning I received a phone call from Arthur Maxwell, the owner of The Institute of Business Betterment, asking if we could investigate to determine whether these are murders and whether they are connected to his business. He is requested our absolute discretion during our investigation. The Institute does service some high profile individuals.” Hotch finished and waited for input from his team. As usual, they came quickly.

“Arthur Maxwell – Didn’t you prosecute him at one time?” Trust Rossi to remember one of his few failures.

“I tried. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make any of the charges stick,” Hotch admitted. “His lawyers were just too slippery.”

Reid came through with his usual statistics. “Approximately two million people in the U.S. are poisoned each year. Approximately 90% of those are adults. In most cases it is accidental. However, with the tie to The Institute I would estimate that the chance of all three deaths being accidental at approximately three million to 1,” was his contribution. That supported the theory that these poisonings were most likely not accidental.

“Domestic terrorism? All three are executives in large companies, two with ties to the DOD. It could be an effort to destabilize the defense industry.” Morgan brought up a point Hotch has been considering.

“If it was terrorism, we would have heard from someone by now,” Rossi pointed out. “Those guys don’t stay quiet for long.”

“The timeline seems to be accelerating. Is there any indication what poison the killer could be using? How it was administered?” Trust Alex to get to the specifics of the case.

“The authorities are still investigating and it will be several days before the toxicology reports become available. However, the sooner we get on the case, the sooner we will be able to build a profile” Hotch replied.

“Poison is generally considered to be a women’s weapon. Are there any women in the picture?” JJ was almost as detail oriented as Reid.

Okay, it was time to get everything in the open.

“Actually, there are multiple ladies, and that is where the problem lies,” Hotch admitted. “As I said, The Institute of Business Betterment is one of Arthur Maxwell’s holdings. While it is a legitimate business specializing in helping executives learn to deal with the changing business climate, almost all their instructors are attractive young women. Besides teaching business skills during the day, many of them are available for after hours activities.”

“This Institute is a front for prostitution?” Alex didn’t sound judgmental, just curious. “How does that work?”

“I’m not entirely clear on that. However, as I understand from Mr. Maxwell, this is a legitimate business with executives from major corporations coming in for training. Mr. Maxwell assures me that over time the after hours activities are being slowly phased out.”

Morgan looked up from examining his file. “With the executives listed here, we will definitely have to move carefully. There are a lot of major players on this list.”

Hotchner agreed. “I have assured Mr. Maxwell we will be discrete. He suggests one of us go undercover during the class session which begins this afternoon. Rossi, Reid, JJ, and I will be going directly out there. Morgan, you and Alex go visit the Blanchard home. Check out the crime scene, speak with the local police and the family, and see what you think. Garcia, I need you to run background checks on the three victims, and then on all employees at The Institute of Business Betterment.”

Garcia, as usual, was quick to reply, “Running them as you speak.” She scuttled out of the room.

“Everyone is set then? Let’s go. I’m driving.”


	4. Chapter 3

After a short drive to Reston, Virginia, Hotchner and Rossi found themselves seated in visitor chairs in front of an impressive desk with the Institute’s Director, Miss Lilly, seated behind it. The office was businesslike, decorated in a tasteful mauve and gray color combination, and Miss Lilly definitively did not match the stereotypical ideal of a madam. Wearing a severe black business suit with her bleached blond hair swept up on top of her head, she was as imposing as her massive desk and just as businesslike.

“Agents, I can’t tell you how glad I am you are here. Mr. Maxwell did stress the need for discretion, didn’t he?” She went right to the point which Hotch appreciated.

“Ma’am, I assure you we will proceed with the utmost caution,” he assured her.

“If Mr. Maxwell trusts you, I suppose that’s good enough for me.” Miss Lilly carefully replied. “Please keep in mind that we do train a lot of high profile executives here at The Institute. Having their names in the paper in connection with something like this would ruin them – and us!”

“Mr. Maxwell has also instructed me to make sure you have everything you need to carry out this investigation,” she continued. “I have arranged for you and your team to move into one of our executive suites which has a private entrance.”

The door to the office opened and a young lady entered. She was quietly dressed in a gray pencil skirt with a white silk shirt. On first glance, she appeared to be an everyday personal assistant type, but anyone taking a second look would quickly question that. The skirt was just a little tighter than usual, the shirt was opened several buttons lower than usual, and then there was the matter of the 3” heels on her pumps.

Miss Lilly looked over and smiled. “Good. Here you are.”

The young lady crossed to Miss Lilly’s desk where she proceeded to lean back against it and observe the two men.

“Gentlemen, I would like you to meet my right hand, Heather. She is the one who notice the – unfortunate demises – of our customers. Heather, these are Agents Hotchner and Rossi from the FBI.” Miss Lilly made the introduction.

“Gentlemen,” Heather looked directly at them and nodded briefly. “I understand you are going to be with us for a day or so.”

“That is the current plan,” Hotch replied.

“Heather will be your direct contact while you are here.” Miss Lilly told them. “Any questions you have, anything you need, she will be available to assist you.”

Rossi got down to business, “You’re the one who noticed?”

“Yes. When I read about Mr. Wilson dying, I really only thought about what a shame it was. He was a good customer and our staff really liked him. When I heard about Mr. Loomis’ death, it did seem a bit strange. But, we are working with high-powered, high strung executives here. Mr. Blanchard’s death this morning really made me wonder. That’s when I spoke with Miss Lilly and she called Mr. Maxwell. If I remember my readings in abnormal psychology, three murders equal a serial killer.” Heather spoke with confidence.

“Heather’s is currently working on a Doctorate in Psychology. One of her undergrad degrees is in Accounting, so she handles the accounting end of our business as well as overseeing the hiring and providing counseling for our staff. As she rarely comes into contact with our students and, I would hope, is above suspicion, I thought she would be the right person to work with you.” Miss Lilly filled in the blanks.

“Impressive,” Rossi remarked.

Heather gave Rossi a long look. “My powers of observation, my educational credentials, or my legs, Agent Rossi?” she remarked tartly.

Rossi looked chagrined, “All of the above?”

“An honest man. I can work with that!”

The two women exchanged a look and Miss Lilly spoke. “With all due respect Agent Hotchner, I think Agent Rossi would be the better choice to go undercover here. With a little coaching, he would blend in better with our students.”

Hotchner didn’t hesitate. “That’s fine with me. If we can get set up?”

“Let me check,” Heather picked up the telephone on Miss Lilly’s desk and punched in some numbers.

“Cora! Just checking to see if everything will be ready for this afternoon’s guests. The rooms are almost done? Great! Sounds like you and your crew are doing your usual magnificent job! Just about time for your lunch break –Right? Okay – Talk to you later.” Heather hung up the phone and turned to Hotch and Rossi.

“It’s okay to head down to the suite now. The staff is all on lunch break so we won’t run into anyone.”


	5. Chapter 4

Suddenly an argument seemed to be erupting in the outer office. The office door flew open and Reid entered, followed by JJ.

“I know how to park the SUV,” Reid declared. “I don’t need you to direct me.”

“You just looked like you were going to hit that tree,” JJ told him. “I wasn’t telling you how to drive – Not exactly anyway.”

Reid looked around. “I hope this is okay. There wasn’t anyone in the outer office and we heard voices in here.”

“We left the SUV in the front parking lot, I hope that’s where it should be,” JJ chimed in.

Heather did a double take. “O – M – G!! What have we here?”

She began circling Reid as if he were a strange specimen of some sort. “It’s a shame we aren’t entertaining any newly minted dot.com types this session. What I could do with you!”

Reid was clearly confused. “Excuse me?”

Miss Lilly spoke up, “Heather!”

Heather stopped circling and looked over at Miss Lilly. “Admit it. You can almost -” She cut the thought short.

“Heather!!!” Miss Lilly’s voice rang through the office.

“O-kay!” Heather replied petulantly.

“Let me introduce two more members of our team”, Hotchner began. “Agent Jennifer Jerreau, and **Dr.** Spencer Reid.” He emphasized the title.

“Miss Lilly is the Director of The Institute and Miss Heather is her Assistant”, he continued with a sideways glance at Heather.

Lilly nodded, “Agents.”

Heather smiled. “Agent Jereau - **Dr.** Reid,” she acknowledged, shaking JJ’s hand and nodding at Reid.

“JJ, please”, JJ replied with her customary smile. Reid just stared as if observing something both interesting and terrifying.

Lilly wasted no time. “Okay – Off you go. If you agents need anything, just let Heather know. And, again, I am trusting in your discretion”

“Of course,” Hotchner quickly reassured.

Heather picked up a folder from Miss Lilly’s desk and led the way out the office door. “If you will come with me –“


	6. Chapter 5

In the outer office Heather took some papers from the In basket on the desk and passed them around.

 “Before we go any further, I wanted to give you a map of our buildings and grounds.  This is the standard map we give to everyone who attends classes here,” she told them.

 “We will be staying where?” Hotchner inquired studying the map.

 Heather reached over his shoulder to point at his map.  “Right here, at the end of this hall.   The suite has a sliding glass door leading directly outside.  There is a walkway around the side of the building and out to the staff parking lot.  You can move your vehicle there shortly.  It will be less conspicuous.”

 “I understand some of your staff lives on the premises.  Where are they located?” JJ inquired.

 “For obvious reasons, that isn’t noted on the map,” Heather told her.  “However, you probably noticed when you drove up that the front of the building has two stories while the rest of the building only has one.  There is a staircase located right here (she pointed to a place on JJ’s map).That door is opened by a key card and each lady has an individual lock on their door.”

 “Anything else?  Okay, through the door and to the left.  At the end of the hall turn right,” she instructed the agents.

 As everyone filed out the door, Heather took Rossi’s arm.  “I certainly hope you don’t mind my playing clinging vine to you for the next 24 hours, Agent Rossi,” she commented to him as they walked down the hall. 

 “I can easily get used to it. And, the name is Dave.  If you continue calling my Agent Rossi someone is going to get suspicious,” was Rossi’s casual reply.

 “Dave – I like that!”


	7. Chapter 6

            Morgan and Alex made short work of the drive to the Blanchard home.  When they arrived several members of the local police were standing in the front yard talking.  One noticed the SUV and walked over.

“You the FBI?” he inquired.

“Yes.  Agent Morgan,” Morgan showed his credentials.

“Agent Blake”, Alex contributed as she also showed the officer her badge.

“Detective Young,” the officer introduced himself.  “I’ve been assigned to this case.  Do you really think it is murder?

“Well, as I understand it, there was no sign of break in and the victim was in excellent health,” Morgan stated.  “As he was a prominent defense contractor, that means we need to take a close look at the situation.”

“Understood,” Detective Young agreed.  “We have already interviewed the family and they told us the alarm was set as usual and didn’t go off.  The alarm company verifies that.  Plus, they have several dogs that are let loose on the grounds at night and they never sounded an alarm.”

“That’s a start,” Alex smiled at him.  “Now, if you don’t mind, we would like to speak with them further.  We would also like to examine the bedroom and dressing room.  I understand that is where Mr. Blanchard was found?”

“Knock yourselves out,” Detective Young told them.  “I have to stay here and wait for further reinforcements to arrive.  Just knock at the front door and my guys will let you in.”

“Great, Thanks!” Morgan commented as he closed the door of the SUV. 

Alex was already headed to the front door and he caught up with her.  As they waited for a response to Alex’s knock, she turned to Morgan.

“Do you ever get used to this?  Showing up and talking to people on what is undoubtedly the worst day of their lives?” she asked, her face reflecting her inner turmoil.

“Not really,” Morgan confessed.  “But we have a job to do.  And doing that job will give these people the peace of mind they need so they can get on with their lives.  You have to remember that.”

“Okay.  Just keep reminding me.”  Alex took a deep breath as the door opened.


	8. Chapter 7

The officer who opened the door directed Morgan and Alex to the rear of the house where the family was gathered in the solarium. There they found Mrs. Blanchard, along with a teen-aged boy and girl, and an older, distinguished looking man who Alex guessed to be the family lawyer.

Morgan introduced them, “Mrs. Blanchard? I’m Agent Derek Morgan of the FBI and this is my associate Agent Alex Blake. We are sorry for your loss.”

Mrs. Blanchard looked up with tear-reddened eyes. “Thank you, agents. That’s very kind of you. This is my son, Earl, Jr., and my daughter Ariel. Also, our family friend and attorney, Bill Pritchard. Please, sit down”

Morgan and Alex took seats on the couch facing Mrs. Blanchard. 

“If you feel up to it, we do have some questions we would like to ask,” Alex began.”

“Understandable, under the circumstances,” Mr. Pritchard commented.

“Circumstances?” Morgan asked.

“Of course,” Mr. Pritchard replied. “A healthy man whose company has just obtained a sizeable contract from the Department of Defense just drops dead? Questions are going to be asked.”

Alex leaned toward Mrs. Blanchard. “Have you noticed anything different about your husband lately?” She inquired. “Was he unusually preoccupied or did he seem worried about something – Anything?”

Mrs. Blanchard took a deep breath. “As I already told the local police, there was nothing out of the ordinary. He was worried about some new contract they were negotiating, but that was nothing new. He worried every time a big contract came in.”

Morgan turned to Earl, Jr. “How about you?” he asked. Did you notice if your father was worried or upset about anything?”

Earl, Jr. replied quickly. “Not that I noticed. Just the usual worries about business. I work part-time in the office, so lately I’ve seen him more than anyone else in the family. And, there was nothing.”

Ariel spoke up. “Daddy just came back from his visit to The Institute, and he seemed perfectly normal. Laughing and smiling the way he always does.”

“Did he say anything about the training sessions he attended?” Alex followed up. “Did he talk about anyone new he had met?”

Mrs. Blanchard smiled. “No, he just laughed about how he was having to be trained all over again on how to make a telephone call – The new cell phones you know.”

She shook her head sadly. “And now he’s never going to make another telephone call.” She broke down. Mr. Pritchard walked over and put his arm around her to comfort her.

Areal began weeping also. “We had dinner Sunday night the same as usual. He did complain about having a slight case of the sniffles, but with the weather the way it is,” she trailed off.

“He has – had – allergies,” Earl Jr. explained.

“If we could see his home office? We would like to look around,” Morgan moved on to the next step of the investigation. “I understand that is where he spent the evening.”

“And, the bedroom and his dressing room, if you don’t mind?” Alex asked. 

“Of course not,” Mrs. Blanchard agreed. “The police are still upstairs but –“

“Don’t worry,” Morgan assured her. “I’m sure they will let us in.”


	9. Chapter 8

Morgan and Alex made their way down the hall until they came to a door with a police guard standing outside. 

“FBI,” Morgan held out his ID and badge while Alex did the same. “Detective Young gave us his approval to inspect this room.”

The office glanced at their credentials, and then stepped aside. “The crime scene techs just finished,” he informed them as he pushed the door open for them. “Let me know if you find anything they missed.”

“No problem,” Morgan informed him as he and Alex crossed the threshold and began a visual inspection of the room.

Once inside the room Morgan dialed on his cell phone.

“Information central. Ask and I shall seek,” was Garcia’s reply.

“Garcia,” Morgan began. “What can you tell me about Mr. Blanchard?”

“Okay,” Garcia’s answer began. “I have searched and searched and have come up with only one conclusion.”

“What’s that?” Morgan asked.

“He was a really nice guy,” Garcia stated. “I mean, he probably wasn’t perfect or anything, except for me, who is, but I really can’t find anything.”

“Nothing?” Alex stepped closer to Morgan’s shoulder and spoke.

“Nothing serious, you know, like something that would get him killed,” Garcia clarified.

“He went through school on scholarships and hard work, hired in at Carr Industries and worked his way to the top. He probably stepped on a toe or two, here and there, especially since his company has a DOD contract, but nothing that has showed up on my radar. He hasn’t even ever been audited by the IRS.”

“Well, what about his family?” Morgan asked.

“I haven’t been able to find any dirt on them, either,” Garcia stated. “The son, Junior has received a speeding ticket or two and the daughter had to go to counseling after a girlfriend was killed in an auto accident, but other than that –“

“Okay, but could you keep digging?” Morgan asked.

“Until I have dirt under my nails. Over and out,” was the reply.

Alex took the perimeter. “Organized, but not overly obsessively,” was her observation as she looked at the bookshelves, framed pictures, and knickknacks around the room.

Morgan started on the antique wooden desk. “Minimal paperwork from Carr Industries,” he noted after a brief inspection. “It looks like he left most of his work at the office.”

“Admirable,” Alex commented. “He must have considered his time at home to be family time.”

“Not many executives can do that,” Morgan agreed. “Definitely a family man,” he added, admiring the family pictures on the desk.

Alex started rifling through the file cabinet. “Just personal things,” she observed. “He was getting bids on replacing the roof.”

“An upset contractor?” Morgan suggested.

“I doubt it,” Alex said. “He hadn’t made a decision yet. Let’s try the rooms upstairs.”

Leaving the office, Morgan signaled to the officer still standing outside. “We’re headed upstairs,” he told him. “Any problem with that?”

“None whatsoever,” the officer assured him. “The guys who were up there just left.”

Alex and Morgan soon found themselves in a fair-sized bedroom, with attached bath. Two dressing rooms, and a lounge area were also part of the suite. Alex began by examining the perimeter while Morgan dug into the closet and dressing room areas.

“Nothing unusual,” Alex observed. “Good taste, but just a normal bedroom he shared with his wife. Anything in there?”

Morgan was busy looking through the executive’s dressing room. “This guy certainly had some expensive clothes and jewelry, but it doesn’t seem as if anything has been disturbed and nothing seems to be missing. It looks like he struggled when the poison hit him, but no indication of another person having been present,” was his observation.

“Well, we seem to have discovered nothing,” was Alex’s assessment. She took out her cell phone. “Let me tell Hotch and see if he wants us to go to the Wendell Loomis home.”


	10. Chapter 9

After a short walk down the hallways Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Reid were soon standing with Heather outside the doors to several suites. 

Heather pointed down the hall. “All right, just to orient you - You are assigned to the suite on the left at the end of this hall. The suite on our left here, sharing a wall with your suite, was used by Wendell Loomis during his stay. And the one slightly ahead on our right was used by both Earl Blanchard and Carl Wilson during their stays. Unfortunately, both suites have been cleaned.”

Hotch did a quick survey of the hallway. “We will want to look at them anyway,” he told Heather.

“I thought so,” Heather told him. “Once we get to your suite, I have key cards for all your team so you can get started. I understand you still have two agents on the way?”

“Yes. They will be joining us later,” Hotch told her.

“Alright then, let’s get this show on the road,” Heather led them to the door of their suite and let them in. 

Once inside everyone looked around the spacious area. There were several couches, a working desk, and a fireplace. In addition, there was a sliding glass door that led to a private patio. A doorway opened into a small kitchen area, and a hallway appeared to lead to several bedrooms.

“Wow! We never get a place this nice,” was JJ’s comment.

Heather smiled. “Welcome to the corner office,” she said. “Actually, this suite is rarely used because it is so big, and expense. Miss Lilly and I thought it would suit your purpose.”

She put her file folder on the desk and then turned to JJ and Reid. Taking a key card out of her skirt pocket, she handed it to JJ.

“Just so you know,” she told her, “This is my personal card. It is one of five master cards for The Institute. If anyone checks the computer it will show up as me having gone into the suites. That way, if any questions arise, I can always say I was checking on the cleaning crew.”

JJ smiled. She was beginning to like this woman. “Understood. We’ll get it back to you just as soon as we finish.”

“Who else has master cards?” Rossi inquired.

Heather quickly replied. “The head of Housekeeping, the head of Maintenance, and Miss Lilly. The fifth card is kept locked in Miss Lilly’s desk. And, yes, we checked this morning and all cards are accounted for.”

Heather picked the folder back up and proceeded to take other cards out of it. She handed each agent an individual card. “These are cards for this room only. You can use them to come and go through the hallway,” she told them.

Reid spoke for the first time. “You say the rooms have been cleaned?”

“Yes. And, unfortunately, I try to make sure our staff does an exemplary job. However, if you do find anything that needs further work, you will let me know, won’t you?” Heather asked.

“Of course!” JJ assured her as she left with Reid.

After Reid and JJ had left the room Heather walked over and took a screwdriver out of a drawer in one of the end tables. She turned towards Hotch and Rossi and smiled. “Which one of you would like to show me how handy you are around the house?” she inquired.

“Pardon??” Rossi wanted to make sure he had heard correctly.

“There is a lock in the track on the sliding door. It needs to be removed so you can come and go unnoticed by the staff and other guests,” Heather explained. She waved the screwdriver in the air.

“Are you sure it can come off with just a screwdriver?” Hotch was skeptical.

“I put it on with just a screwdriver. Unfortunately, I’m currently not dressed for home repairs,” Heather indicated the form fitted blouse and tight skirt.

“Okay. My second wife always complained I never did enough around the house. Let me prove her wrong,” Rossi gave in with a slight smile and took the screwdriver from her.

“Second wife?” Heather inquired.

“Out of only three,” Rossi told her as he began work on the track.


	11. Chapter 10

As David Rossi began working on the sliding door Aaron Hotchner walked to the far side of the room and motioned Heather to follow him.

“Miss Heather,” he started, “I am not accustomed to having people mock my agents. What you did back there with Dr. Reid was uncalled for.”

Heather suppressed a smile. He looked so terribly serious. “I know, and I am sorry. I plan to apologize to him just as soon as I can get him somewhere where the apology won’t embarrass him further. But, I just couldn’t resist,” she confessed.

“That’s acceptable,” Hotchner was still in serious mode. “Just so you understand. And, Thank You.”

Heather couldn’t resist taking it one step further. “Just one question, if you don’t mind – Out of curiosity - He gets that a lot – Doesn’t he?” she asked.

Agent Hotchner gave her a ghost of a smile. “Unfortunately, more than he would like,” was his reply.

“That’s kind of what I figured,” she said.

Heather gestured at a white board and conference table set up on far side of room. 

“Will this do?” She asked. “I spoke with your Ms. Garcia and then had my maintenance men move these in here from one of our classrooms. Office supplies are in that box.” She pointed at a box sitting on an end table.

“That looks good,” Hotch told her. “You have WiFi?”

Heather smiled, “Yes, but please don’t tell our other guests. We try to convince them that part of our program is to get completely out of their offices and concentrate of what we are teaching.” 

Rossi walked over and handed her the screwdriver and hardware from the door. “How does that work?” he asked with a smirk.

“Not particularly well, unfortunately. One time I tried confiscating cell phones, and had a near riot on my hands!” Heather smiled at the memory.

Hotch’s cell phone rang and he checked the screen. “Excuse me. I need to take this,” he said, while walking to an area where he couldn’t be overheard.

Heather put the screwdriver and hardware in a desk drawer, picked up the folder from the top of the desk, and handed it to Rossi.

“Another thing,” she told him. “Here are copies of the personnel files on all our employees, including several that were recently let go. Your computer guru can probably find all the necessary information on line, but I thought you might appreciate some paper copies to get started with.”

Rossi stared at her. “You are efficient, aren’t you?” he commented.

“You have no idea!” was Heather’s reply.


	12. Chapter 11

Meanwhile, JJ and Reid were going over the suite used by Earl Blanchard. They had divided up the room with JJ examining the furniture and the nightstand, while Reid looked through the bathroom and the closets.

JJ was impressed. “I’ll say this much for Miss Heather. Her cleaning crew does seem to do a remarkable job.”

Reid, always the germaphobe, felt compelled to speak up. “Considering the number of germs and bacteria in an average hotel room, I still would hate to think of what a black light would reveal,” he said.

“Spence, how many nights a month do we spend in hotel rooms?” JJ asked.

After a moment’s hesitation to run figures he replied, “Taking the last six months as a norm, I would say about 12.”

JJ looked over at him. “In that case, I don’t really want to think about the threat of germs hidden in hotel rooms, okay? And, Thanks!”

Reid was puzzled. “You’re welcome – I think??”

When they finished with their examination of the suite both had to admit they had found nothing relevant to the case. 

“Do you want to try the other suite?” JJ asked.

“May as well,” Reid replied.

As they walked across the hall JJ looked towards the door of the end suite they were using and then looked back at Reid.

“What do you make of Miss Heather?” she asked suddenly.

“Not what I would expect,” Reid replied. “Of course,” he quickly added, “I don’t have a lot of experience with ladies in her, um-m-m, line of work.”

“But you’re from Vegas,” JJ pointed out. “Didn’t you encounter ladies of the evening out there?”

“Not really,” Reid told her. “They mostly hang out on the strip and in the hotels. Growing up I spent the majority of my time in school, the library, and residential areas.”

JJ used Heather’s key card on the suite door and they started a systematic search of the second suite. Again, they came up empty.


	13. Chapter 12

Hotch was shutting off his cell phone as Reid and JJ returned to the suite. 

“As expected, we didn’t find anything except for a couple of very clean rooms,” JJ told him.

“Morgan and Alex just called. They seem to have struck out at the Blanchard house. They are on their way over to join us. Looks like we are going to have to start from a basic profile,” Hotch commented.

“Is that two more for lunch, then?” Heather asked.

“Probably not,” Hotch replied. “It’ll take them a while to get here and I’m sure they will stop along the way and get something to eat.”

“Okay,” Heather then continued. “Now, our next group of students will be arriving within a few hours. You will want to get your SUV moved before then. Let me show you how to get to the staff parking lot, and then you can tell your late arrivals how to get there. Dr. Reid, you’re the current driver, aren’t you?”

Reid blushed at the attention. “If you can just tell me where it is I can find the lot,” he replied.

“I am sure you can,” Heather smiled. “However, I asked our grounds people to trim the bushes back on the path between here and there and I need to check and make sure they did their usual excellent job. I don’t want to take any chances of someone getting hurt. So, why don’t you take a walk with me?”

Reid looked helplessly at Hotchner. “Just go move the SUV, Reid. We won’t do anything until you get back,” he assured the agent.

“An IQ of 187 and he is still reduced to jelly by a pretty woman,” Rossi commented as Reid followed Heather out the sliding door.

“She certainly isn’t what I expected of a – a – Professional Girl (??),” JJ wasn’t quite sure how to diplomatically put it.

Rossi smiled at her discomfort. “That’s because she isn’t one of the instructor/companions,” he told her.

“She’s not?”

“No, she’s the Institute’s Accountant,” Hotch clarified. “That’s why she is working with us. She doesn’t usually come into contact with the students so she isn’t in a position to poison any of them.”

“Plus, she is a Grad Student in Psychology. Apparently, she is here doing research for her thesis,” Rossi added.

“Does Reid know that?” JJ asked, concerned.

“Not yet. But I am sure she’ll tell him,” Hotch assumed.


	14. Chapter 13

Reid followed Heather around the side of the building and along a sidewalk running toward the front of the property.

“I have thought several times about putting in some flowering shrubs here, but then we’d have to deal with bees. With some people allergic to bee stings, it doesn’t seem like the best idea,” she commented as they walked.

“Approximately 0.5% of all children and 3% of all adults suffer from anaphylaxis resulting from insect bites. In the U.S. about 40 people die each year from anaphylactic shock,” Reid told her. Then he stopped. “Sorry. I get carried away some times,” he mumbled.

“Well, it is kind of hard not to share information when you have it at your fingertips, or at least in your memory cells,” she told him with a smile. “I’ll bet you can also tell me what type of flowering bush attracts what specific species of bee.”

Reid looked at her curiously. He was used to his team making fun of his constant flow of information on various subjects. This lady actually seemed interested.

“Not really,” he started. “I don’t think bees discriminate between various food sources. But, I can look it up.”

Heather gestured towards the parking lot they had just arrived at the edge of. “This is where our staff parks. As you can tell, it can’t be seen from the front of the building. There is more than enough room for your two SUVs. The drive over there leads to the front lot where you are currently parked,” she pointed.

“Thanks! That helps. Let me get going,” Reid was anxious to put some distance between the two of them.

“Before you go, Dr. Reid, I have something I need to say,” Heather turned to face him.

“Oh?”

“Earlier, in Miss Lilly’s office, I was rather impertinent with you. I want to apologize for that. Sometimes, I get an idea in my head and it just comes out my mouth. I am sorry.”

“I – eh - that’s – that’s okay,” Reid wasn’t sure what to respond.

“I’ll bet that happens to you a lot – People teasing you, I mean,” Heather continued.

Reid looked at the ground before answering. “More than I would like. Not all of them apologize. Actually, very few of them apologize.” He looked into her eyes. “Thank you.”

“Maybe my apologizing will set a precedent,” she smiled at him.

“Maybe,” he sounded dubious.

Heather continued to smile at him. “Now, Dr. Reid, I need your help,” she said.

“Okay?” This was strange.

“I’m arranging for some sandwiches to be brought in for your team’s lunch,” Heather told him. “I think I have a handle on what everyone would like, except for you. What would you like?”

Reid automatically replied, “Just about anything.”

“Oh, come on now,” Heather wouldn’t accept his stock answer. “You have to have some preference. Even if it is just peanut butter and jelly.”

Reid quickly replied, “No, please, not that.” He hesitated for a moment. “My mother didn’t do much cooking. Peanut butter sandwiches were something I could make for myself. I ate a lot of them growing up.”

“Okay, that’s a big NO on the PB&J. But, there has to be something. Even if it’s just something you have heard of and thought would be good. Come on, my kitchen staff is always complaining that I don’t give them any challenges.”

“Well – there is one thing.” Reid leaned close and whispered in her ear. 

“Now, was that so hard? Let me get with my staff and see what we can arrange.” She actually seemed delighted with his request.

As Heather started walking across the parking lot she suddenly stopped, half-turned, and looked back at Reid. “Sure you don’t want to help me get lunch, Dr. Reid?” she asked. Reid rapidly retreated toward the SUV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay - I was trying to give this conversation the flavor of "Tell me your favority sexual fantacy and I'll make it come true". Let me know if I succeeded.


	15. Chapter 14

In the main room of the suite, Aaron Hotchner had set up the laptop computer and signed onto a webcam session with Garcia. 

As Garcia’s smiling face showed on the screen she exclaimed, “So, tell me all about it!”

“All about what?” JJ wasn’t sure what she was asking.

“About the, you know, the brothel,” Garcia replied.

Rossi stepped into picture. “Penelope Garcia! This is not a brothel! It is a legitimate business that specializes in updating executives’ business and social skills,” he told her sternly. 

“Okay. Okay. But, just humor me. I’ve always had fantasies about places like that. Is there lots of red velvet and all kinds of slinky women?” Garcia wasn’t about to give up.

JJ laughed, “Actually, it’s just like any other expensive hotel – Not that I’ve been in a lot of those. However, it is a lot nicer than the places where we usually stay. As for the employees, we’ve only met one and she is an enigma.”

Hotch quickly go to the issue at hand. “To business Garcia. What have you found out about our executives?”

“Unfortunately, not a lot,” Garcia replied. “Well, actually I have found out a lot but nothing that would get them killed. All three were businessmen who rose through the ranks of their respective companies. We can assume they stepped on some toes on their way up, but nothing stands out. I’m sending biographies to your phones.”

“Socially did they ever cross paths?” JJ questioned.

“Not that I can find,” Garcia quickly told her. “They lived in different parts of the country, belonged to different country clubs, and vacationed in different places. So far, I have been unable to determine any point where their paths would have crossed. Other than The Institute, of course, but we know they were all there at different times.”

“Mr. Blanchard had just finished his third visit, Mr. Loomis only made the one visit, and Mr. Wilson was a regular visitor – Every six months for the past three years,” she clarified.

“That’s all very interesting, but I’m afraid that’s not very helpful,” Rossi commented. “Maybe you should go further into their backgrounds. Contacts during military service, college roommates, stuff like that.”

“I’ll keep looking,” Garcia assured him.

“What about employees of The Institute?” Hotch decided to take another approach.

“There we have a real mixed bag. Do you know some of those ladies actually do have teaching degrees?” Garcia was quick to show that she had anticipated the direction of their investigation.

“Well, Mr. Mitchell did say that he was phasing out the ‘night time activities’,” Hotch commented. “That might indicate that he was telling the truth.”

“Any criminal records for the staff?” JJ asked.

“A couple of drunk driving and speeding tickets,” Garcia told her. “No indication of anything like assault charges for anyone, and that includes Miss Lilly and Miss Heather.”

“Interesting person, Miss Heather,” Garcia continued. “Do you know she ranks near the top of her class at Georgetown?”

“An intriguing young lady,” Rossi commented dryly.

“Well, Garcia, you have your work cut out for you,” Hotch told her. 

“Over and Out, Oh Great Commander,” Garcia sang out as she signed off.


	16. Chapter 15

When Reid returned, everyone looked up expectantly. 

“Did you get the SUV moved?” Rossi asked.

“Yes,” Reid replied. “When Morgan and Alex get closer, I’ll call and give them directions on how to find the employee parking lot.”

“And?” Rossi prompted him.

“She apologized for embarrassing me earlier,” Reid admitted. “She was really nice about it.”

They were busy discussing possible motives and poisons when there was a knock at the suite door. Hotch opened it and Heather rolled a loaded room service cart in. As she came through the door the wheels caught on the sill and he reached over to help her. 

“Thank You, Sir!” Heather looked directly into his eyes. “You are indeed a gentleman and a scholar.”

“Okay, everybody,” she continued cheerfully. “Lunch has arrived. We have a platter of sandwiches and a bowl of fruit salad on the top shelf. Canned drinks and brownies are on the second shelf. Plates and silverware are on the bottom. I see you already have the coffee maker going, and there are also tea bags over there. Is there anything else you are going to need?”

Rossi looked up from his file. “You know, you don’t have to do this. We can go out and get something,” he told Heather.

“Mr. Mitchell told Miss Lilly and me to make sure you have everything you need to do your job properly,” Heather told him. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t do my best work if I am hungry.”

JJ was already busy investigating the cart. “I’m not complaining,” she commented. “This is great. My favorite - Tuna on a croissant.”

“Look further,” Heather suggested. “There is also chicken salad on a croissant. And, you have to try the brownies. Our chef’s recipe is a state secret!”

Rossi stood up and walked over to the cart. “Do I smell chicken caprice?” he asked. 

“Of course,” Heather assured him. “I have to keep my playmate for tonight well fed. Although, I assure you, tonight’s dinner is something to look forward to.”

“I give up,” Hotch commented. “That fruit salad looks great. And, is that roast beef on a hoagie roll? There actually is enough food here for several teams of Profilers.”

“That is lean roast beef with mozzarella,” Heather told him. “I wasn’t sure about the condiments so I had them put in separate containers on the side. It may be a little late before I can get your dinners down here so I wanted to make sure you had plenty of food to see you through.”

Heather took a covered dish off the bottom shelf and looked around. “Where is Dr. Reid?”

“He was here just a minute ago,” JJ told her, turning to look around. 

“Reid!!” she called “He may have taken his bag into the bedroom. Reid!”

Reid appeared in the hallway door. “You wanted something?”

“She’s calling on my behalf,” Heather told him. “I think this has your name on it.” She held up the covered plate. “You didn’t say if you wanted crusts on or crusts off,” she continued. “So, I had the staff take the crust off half and leave the crust on the other half.”

Reid walked over to her and took the plate. “You mean your kitchen actually was able to do it?” he asked in amazement.

“Of course,” Heather smiled. “They are always complaining they don’t get any challenges, so I gave them one. They didn’t dare complain!”

“What is it?” JJ asked, straining to see what Reid had.

“Dr. Reid had a special request,” Heather explained. “Maybe you had better ask him about it!”

Heather then took a file folder from the bottom shelf of the cart, walked over to where Rossi was sitting on one of the couches, and sat down next to him. He noticed the way her skirt rode up a little, exposing more of her leg than was absolutely necessary. 

“You eat and I’ll talk.” She told him as she opened the folder and took out a sheet of paper. 

“You’re not joining us for lunch?” Rossi asked as he put down his sandwich.

“No. The ladies are setting up the registration area in our main lobby. I’ll be going down there to help them and then I’ll be joining them for lunch. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy eating with you and your team.”

“Let’s start with this.” Heather handed him the sheet of paper. “Here are the names of the ladies our – former students - spent time with while they were with us. Your Ms. Garcia could probably figure the information out, but she would have to first figure out how our billing system works. I thought this would be faster.”

Rossi glanced down the list. “Tatyana, Natalia, Katya. Do I see a theme here?”

Heather laughed. “It was Miss Lily’s idea, before I came on board. She wanted to create an air of the exotic - Russian spies and all that. Our focus has changed, but the names remain.”

“Thanks,” Rossi laid the paper down. “I assume you are going to handle the introductions – Discretely, of course.”

“Discreet, now there is an interesting word,” Heather commented. “Very open to individual interpretation.”

“However, right now Agent – eh, Dave - I want to give you the schedule for this afternoon and evening. Our latest group of students should start arriving around 4:30 p.m. They will check-in and get their room assignments. Then they will leave their bags in their rooms and proceed to the registration area in our main lobby, located at the back of the building. There is a limited open bar, so by 5:30 p.m. things should be in full swing. I would suggest you just wander down about that time. No one should notice that you didn’t arrive by car.”

“There is a registration packet for you under the name David Rossini. I thought that was close enough to your real name that if you slipped you could easily cover it up. Your company name is ASO.”

Rossi smirked at her. “My name isn’t good enough? I need a fake name? And just what does ASO stand for?”

“You, sir, are a well known author. Even I have read your books. I’m afraid someone will recognize it. As for ASO, try Another Silly Company, or Another Stupid Company, take your pick,” was her reply. “Actually, it doesn’t have to stand for anything. Nobody ever questions things like that and, if they do, you can probably dodge the issue.”

“You seem to have thought this through,” Hotch sounded impressed.

“It wasn’t hard,” Heather turned to look at him. “I’ve been to enough of these Get Acquainted receptions that I know what happens.”

She then returned her attention to Rossi. “During the reception I’ll point the ladies out to you. Meeting them is your responsibility, but it won’t be hard. Dinner follows, it is open seating for our students so you can pick your own dinner companions. Then, the pub opens with pool, darts, cards, drinks, etc. It will give you another chance to get acquainted with the ladies. However, at some point you are going to have to hook up with me and, unfortunately, I’ll have to be the one you go home with.”

Rossi looked her up and down. “Poor me,” he murmured. “But, I think I can live with it.”

Heather stood up to go. “Oh, by the way, you are a red meat man, aren’t you?” she inquired.

Rossi looked puzzled.

“I have to put in your dinner order,” she explained sweetly. “Just want to make sure you get what you like.”

Hotch accompanied her to the door and into the hallway.

“You didn’t have to bring Reid a special sandwich,” he told her. 

“Agent Hotchner, you apologize your way and I’ll apologize my way,” she smiled at him. “And, incidentally, you had better get back in there and settle that fight. I think Reid and JJ are arguing over the second half of that sandwich and it appears to be getting physical!”


	17. Chapter 16

Agent Hotchner quickly settled the argument between JJ and Reid by dividing the sandwich half into three pieces. When Reid protested, he pointed out that he also had a weakness for smoked salmon and cream cheese with capers and, because he was the boss, he was entitled to a sample.

With that issue resolved, everyone settled down to eat lunch and review their case files, checking to see if there was any relevant information that needed to be added to the board. They were discussing the possible ways of clandestinely administering poison when the sliding door opened.

“Here we are, fresh from the field,” Alex announced as she and Morgan came into the room.

“Thanks for the detailed directions,” Morgan turned to Reid. “We ended up just where we need to be. Of course, your mileage estimate may have been off by a quarter of a meter or more.”

“It couldn’t have been more than a quarter of a meter,” Reid quickly told him. “I estimated that last piece of driveway through the parking lot using –“

“Enough!” Hotch announced. “Now that everyone is here, let’s get start building a profile.

Morgan and Alex quickly claimed their files and found seats.

“What do we know about poisoners?” Alex asked.

“There are basically four types,” Rossi started. “The True Believer or Terrorist. I think we have already eliminated that as a possibility. If that were the case, someone would have heard from them by now.”

“The Extortionist,” Reid contributed. “Again, if that was the case, I think The Institute would have heard from them by now.”

“That leaves the Avenger and the Prankster,” JJ said. “Even though we haven’t been able to locate a common thread through the four victims lives, there still might be something they all have in common that has triggered an Avenger reaction from the unsub.”

“We should continue looking for that common thread,” Morgan said. “Once we find it, we can isolate him. What worries me though, is if this guy is a Prankster. Then we might never be able to determine who it is.”

“You said ‘guy’,” Hotch pointed out. “Just for the record, most poisoners are women and we can’t eliminate any of the women on the premises. That includes all the support staff and not just the instructors.”

“Duly noted,” Rossi said as he stood up. “Now, if everyone will excuse me, I have to go get ready for my assignment. Tell me, what does a married executive on the prowl look like these days?”


	18. Chapter 17

SSA David Rossi strolled into the main lobby and leisurely made his way over to the Registration table. His trained eye noted about twenty middle-aged men, standing about the lobby area, most with drinks in their hands, and he remembered that several more had followed him down the hall. They were all dressed as if they had removed their ties and opened the top button of their shirts as soon as they had left their respective board rooms. He was glad he had taken Alex’s advice and worn an open necked white shirt with black trousers and a simple gray sports jacket. He was also glad JJ had persuaded him to leave the gold jewelry back in his room. An understated but expensive gold watch fit in much better.

“David Rossini,” he told the young lady at the registration desk. 

“Mr. Rossini,” she greeted him with a blinding smile as she looked through the packets. “Here you go.” She handed him an envelope. “This contains your ID badge, a copy of the schedule of your class sessions, and some other information about The Institute. We have an open bar over there and dinner will be served at 7:00. Do you have any questions?”

“Thank you – ah - Tatyana,” he replied, reading her name tag. “Can you tell me how many students you have in this group?”

Rossi was treated to another megawatt smile, “This evening we are expecting 37 students,” Tatyana told him. “But, don’t worry, we are running two sessions at the same time so you will be getting lots of individual attention.”

He returned the smile. “Thanks, that’s my only question for the moment.”

“Great! If you have any other questions, just ask any of the instructors. They will be glad to help!”

Rossi was walking towards the bar when Heather walked up and smiled. “Good evening!” she greeted him. “What would you like to drink?”

“What would you recommend?” he asked.

“You impress me as being a scotch man,” she replied taking his arm. “Walk over to the bar with me and we’ll see what we can find.”

As soon as Heather had ordered a scotch and water for him and a club soda for herself she began speaking to him softly. “The staff isn’t allowed to drink alcohol at this function. Their responsibility is to facilitate the mixing and mingling. They introduce the students to each other and see that everyone gets off on the right foot. They won’t be joining the group for dinner, but will be back when the pub opens.” 

She accepted their drinks from the bartender and served Rossi. Leaning back against the bar she continued to speak softly. “The lady at the registration table, Tatyana, was with Carl Wilson on his last visit with us. Mr. Wilson apparently liked variety and, except for his first class session when he didn’t visit with anyone, always chose a new companion. If you want to go back further, I can get you the other names, but I suspect she is the one you will want to speak with.”

“Across the room to the right, the lady in the sapphire blue dress, that’s Katya. She was with Mr. Loomis during his visit. He was only with us once, so you’ll have to see what she has to say.”

“Coming into the room from the dining area, wearing the silver top, that’s Natasha. She was with Mr. Blanchard on his last visit, and she was giving him private lessons on how to use the latest cell phone.”

“That’s my information. Now, it’s up to you to make their acquaintance. Any questions?”

Rossi looked at her. Leaning back against the bar pushed her breasts up into high profile and he noted several other men looking at her. She, however, seemed oblivious of their attention, concentrating only on him. “Nothing now. However, are you sure you’ll still be available to go home with me?”

Heather laughed. “I usually don’t attend these gatherings,” she told him. “I’m the worker bee who gets to run the credit cards and put them into the system. Also, I frequently have homework to do. Don’t worry, I may leave for a while, but I’ll be back for the grand finale.”

With that, Heather patted his arm and walked away. Rossi watched as she stopped to speak with several of the other students. He noted that she always ended the short conversations with a laugh, before continuing on her way.

“Refill?” the bartender, a rather sizeable individual who Rossi suspected doubled as a bouncer, asked. 

 

“Not quite yet,” he replied as he started across the room toward Katya.


	19. Chapter 18

After speaking briefly with Katya, Rossi concluded that either she did not know anything about Wendell Loomis and/or his untimely demise or she was practicing the discretion demanded by Miss Lily. He continued to work the room speaking with the other attendees. As he suspected, all the other students were corporate executives looking forward to several days of socializing and networking with an opportunity to update their business skills mixed in. 

When dinner was announced, the female staff discretely disappeared. The dinner was open seating, and Rossi found himself sitting with five other men who, although they were from different companies, knew each other. One of them looked at Rossi.

“I know you from somewhere,” he declared. “What’s the name of your company again?”

“ASC,” Rossi replied. “We’re rather a small holding of a larger conglomerate. We were just taken over.” Rossi wasn’t really sure what that involved, but it sounded like some of the things he had overheard being discussed earlier.

“Takeovers,” one of the men declared. “They can be good or they can be bad. Depends who’s doing the taking.”

“You’ve got that right,” another agreed. “Myself, if we ever get taken over, I’m going to take the package offered and go play golf.”

With that, the discussion turned to golf and the various courses that the men had played. 

Dinner was, as Heather had promised, delicious. Even though Rossi was a confirmed red meat eater, he had to admit that even the fish entre looked and smelled great. 

Following dinner, Miss Lily gave a brief talk welcoming the students and outlining the courses that were going to be taught over the next several days. She then introduced the instructors. Rossi had to admit that the entire presentation was very professionally done and left no doubt that The Institute was a legitimate training center. The fact that the instructors were all very attractive young women seemed secondary.

The pub soon opened and, as the men migrated into the bar area, the female staff returned. Soon Rossi found himself speaking with Tatyana. Again, he seemingly drew a blank. She remembered Carl Wilson, but that was as much as she would discuss. Again, he cursed the discretion demanded by her profession. 

Rossi’s final discussion was with Natasha. She was willing to discuss private lessons on cell phone use but wouldn’t admit to even knowing Earl Blanchard. All in all, Rossi had to admire Miss Lily and Miss Heather’s training of their staff.


	20. 19

“Okay, okay,” Morgan finally called a halt to the speculations. “Do we even know what poison was used?”

“Not yet,” Garcia replied via computer. “The toxicology reports won’t be ready until tomorrow. However, you can rest assured that as soon as they are ready, you will be among the first to know.”

“Thank you Baby Girl,” Morgan replied. “Anything else?”

“Well, I checked on your liaison,” Garcia was whispering. “It appears she is quite the individual.”

“Record?” Alex asked.

“Not that I can find,” Garcia reported. “However, her given name is Christina Nelson and she received her degree in accounting from a small Midwestern university. She then passed her CPA exam. About four years ago she transferred to Georgetown where she is studying psychology. She will be receiving a PhD in the near future. ”

“What about Miss Lily?” Hotch asked. 

“Real name, Lillian Pulaski. One arrest for soliciting about 20 years ago,” Garcia reported. “She then appears to have run a series of small businesses for your friend Arthur Maxwell, culminating in her current job at The Institute. Other than, that – Nothing. Her credit score is even good!”

“Well, that is encouraging,” JJ commented. “At least neither of them seems like a likely candidate for psychopath.”

“I’ll keep looking,” Garcia assured them. “Where is Reid? He usually has something to contribute.”

“He wasn’t feeling well,” Alex told her. “He went to lie down.”

“Oh - Okay. Keep an eye on my favorite genius, alright?” Garcia said. “Over and out!”

There was a knock at the door followed by the sound of the key card opening it.

“Dinner is served!” Heather announced as she pushed a room service cart through the door. “I hope my kitchen got all everyone’s order right. There seems to be one missing.”

Hotch moved quickly to help her with the cart and received a smile in return. Morgan just stared.

“If this is anything like lunch, I don’t think there will be any problem,” JJ assured her. “That was wonderful and this smells terrific.”

Morgan stood up and took a step toward Heather. “Agent Derek Morgan. I don’t think we have been introduced.”

“Agent Morgan,” Heather nodded to him. “You must be one of the late arrivals.”

“Agent Alexis Blake,” Alex stepped forward and held her hand out. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Dr. Blake, if I am not mistaken,” Heather smiled and shook her hand. “Actually, Miss Lily and I need to thank you. This is a rather – delicate – situation and your discretion is much appreciated.”

“You know me?” Alex asked.

“I have attended several of your lectures at the University,” Heather told her.

“Now, for dinner,” Heather continued. “Everything is on individual plates with covers. I brought a couple of extra plates in case anyone wants to share. I also had the kitchen make up a batch of my vegetable fried rice. It’s a special recipe that they make up for especially for me.”

“This is a treat,” Alex exclaimed. “A definite improvement over what we usually eat when we are in the field.”

“Where is Dr. Reid?” Heather asked, looking around. “There didn’t seem to be an order I could identify as his.”

“He said he wasn’t hungry,” JJ told her. 

“Not hungry?” Heather asked in amazement. “Is he feeling all right?”

“I don’t think so,” JJ confirmed. “Although, he won’t admit it.”

“Well, there is plenty of the vegetable rice if he changes his mind. He can use the microwave to heat it up.”

“You seem to have thought of everything,” Morgan moved closer to Heather. He could smell her perfume but couldn’t identify it.

“I try to plan ahead,” she smiled up at him.

“If I may ask,” Hotch spoke up. “Since no one is supposed to know we are here, what does the kitchen staff think of your bringing all this food down here?”

Heather threw her head back and laughed. “They think I am throwing one heck of a party,” she told him. “Please, don’t disillusion them. I have a rep to protect. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go lay claim to Dave.”

With that, Heather left the suite with Morgan still watching her. “If that is a CPA, I’m going to have one heck of a problem with my income taxes this year,” he commented.


	21. Chapter 20

Rossi had finished working the room and was engaged in a game of pool with one of his dinner companions when Heather reappeared. She didn’t make an entrance; she just appeared sitting on the edge of the pool table, smiling at him. She had taken her hair out of the French braid and let it hang loose, and had also changed into a simple black dress. She was holding two champagne flutes.

“Hello, Dave,” she smiled. “You did say you’d like to get better acquainted.”

“That I did,” he said, putting the cue down. “What do you have there?”

Heather handed one of the flutes to him. “Try it,” she suggested, winking at him.

Dave cautiously took a sip. His eyes widened and he took another drink. “Interesting,” was his noncommittal response.

“I thought you would like it,” she told him as she led him away from the pool table and toward a bistro table near the wall.

An hour and a half later, they had two empty bottles prominently displayed on their table and were whispering and laughing together. Heather got up, walked over to the bar, and got another bottle from the bartender. She then returned to the table and held out her hand to Dave. Together they strolled out of the pub with arms entwined.

When they reached the door to the Agents’ suite, Heather helped herself to the key card in Rossi’s shirt pocket and opened the door. Immediately inside the door they encountered Hotchner, who looked gave them a poisonous look when he noticed the bottle Heather was carrying. 

“Rossi, you know the Bureau’s guidelines for drinking on the job,” he said sternly.

Rossi glanced at Heather who couldn’t suppress a laugh. She handed the bottle she was carrying to Hotch. “Here, give this a try,” She giggled. It’s the best ginger ale money can buy. Now, let me sit down and get out of these shoes!” She walked over to the couch, sat down, and kicked her shoes off.

“She’s right,” Rossi told Hotch. “Try it for yourself.”

“You could give each of us a breathalyzer text,” Heather suggested helpfully. “You’ll find that both of us are fully capable of safely driving - Just in case you are planning on a car chase later tonight.”

“I like ginger ale,” Alex volunteered. “Let me try it!” She took the bottle from Hotch and started towards the kitchen.

“There are glasses in the cabinet above the sink,” Heather called out. “You might want to get several. It’s an excellent vintage, meant to be shared.”

“Yes,” Alex declared after sampling the bottle’s contents. “This is excellent ginger ale.”

“I agree,” Morgan had helped with the tasting. “I do need to get the name of this. It is good!”

“Its something our chef asked for to use in one of his recipes,” Heather told them. “It took me a while to track it down.”

“Okay,” Hotch conceded. “I am sorry. I should have known better. My apologies to you both.”

“No problem,” Heather assured him. “Now,” she continued, “I have to be on my way. Dave, please remember to show up for breakfast tomorrow morning looking suitable disheveled. I have a rep to protect! Actually, at this point, you have a rep to protect, too!”

“Where is Dr. Reed? Is he still feeling under the weather?”

“It appears so,” JJ told her. “He did get up and eat some of your vegetable rice, which is really good by the way, and then he went back to bed. He insists he is going to sleep it off – Whatever ‘It’ is.”

“Tell you what,” Heather moved to the desk and wrote on a piece of paper. “This is my personal extension. When he wakes up at 2:00 a.m. feeling lousy, tell him to call me. I have some over the counter medications that might help.” She handed the paper to JJ.

“Two a.m.?” Morgan asked. 

“Of course. Everyone always gets sick at two a.m. It’s the most inconvenient time of the day!” With that comment, Heather let herself out the door.


	22. Chapter 21

“We can’t go any further with this investigation until we get the toxicology reports,” Hotch told his team. “Let’s get some rest and we can start fresh again tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Garcia can get us the reports by then.”

“I’m not sharing a room with Reid,” Morgan declared. “Who knows what germs he is spewing about. Plus, he always keeps a light on reading until all hours of the night.”

“Don’t worry,” Rossi replied. “I think this couch opens up into a bed. We can move him out here. **You** get to wake him up, though.”

“I’ll take care of that,” JJ volunteered. “I need to tell him about Heather’s offer.”

“I’ll wake him up and take custody of that piece of paper,” Morgan told her, holding his hand out.

“No – I’ll handle it. She gave it to me for a reason,” JJ was smiling but adamant as she put the paper into her pocket.

Rossi opened up the couch and JJ soon had Reid, in his cowboy print pajamas, tucked in for the night. “Now, the light is close enough for reading, and here are your books,” she told him, gesturing first towards the end table at his head and then towards the coffee table. “And, you have Heather’s extension in case you decide you want to try some over the counter medications she offered.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay,” Reid sniffled. “I just need to get some sleep.”

“I’ve heard that one before,” Alex commented dryly as she disappeared into the bedroom she was sharing with JJ.

“Don’t you know it,” JJ agreed, joining her.

Reid woke up feeling as if he were back in Tobias Henkel’s cabin. He was sweating, and his sinuses were throbbing. He could also feel the beginnings of a pounding headache. He looked at his travel alarm – 2:00 a.m., 7 minutes, 14 seconds. Much as he hated to admit it, Heather had been right about the time. He found the house phone and pushed the numbers. Maybe she could help.

Within ten minutes, Heather was letting herself into the suite. Reid noticed that her hair was still hanging loosely around her face and that while she was wearing a blue bathrobe, there was no indication of what was underneath it. All that was visible were her bare legs. In her left hand she was carrying a canvas tote bearing the logo of a local pharmacy.

“Dr. Reid,” she greeted him. “You’re lucky I make house calls. Now, let’s see what I have here.”

As Reid watched in amazement, she first took a bottle of vodka out of her bathrobe pocket and put it on the coffee table. She then dumped several dozen packages from the bag onto the table.

“I do have a thermometer,” she told him. “But I have no idea how long it has been since it was last used. I put it into the vodka to kill any germs.”

“You keep all these medications in-house?” Reid questioned, looking at the pile on the coffee table.

“First off,” Heather started, “We don’t dispense drugs of any kind here. That’s against the law and we do try to be law abiding citizens. However, we maintain a supply of over the counter medications for our staff and our students, if they should need them. Just basic aspirin, cold remedies, headache remedy-type pills. Nothing exotic. As you can imagine, headache remedies are quite popular.”

Reid started digging through the pile of boxes. “All of this stuff?” he asked.

“We don’t usually have this much,” Heather told him. “It’s just that for some strange reason everything seemed to run out at the same time. When I made my usual Tuesday shopping trip, I stopped at a pharmacy and just picked up one of everything. Why don’t you set the thermometer, and put it in your mouth? That way you can read the labels and take your temperature at the same time. See if you can find a product that the manufacturer claims can treat the majority of your symptoms.”

“You do know that typical vodka only has a 40% alcohol level,” Reid asked. “Its ability to kill germs is questionable. There are some vodkas with a 80% alcohol level, but they generally aren’t sold in the U.S. market.”

“Dr. Reid,” Heather looked at him.

“Yes?”

“Take the thermometer out of the vodka, push the little button, and put it in your mouth,” she said firmly.

Stunned, Reid looked at her. Nobody ever spoke to him like that. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied docilely as he followed her directions.

After he had the thermometer situated to his satisfaction, Reid sniffed. “Tissue?” He mumbled around the thermometer.

“Let me see what I can find,” Heather headed into the kitchen. When she returned she had a box of tissues and a bottle of water. “See anything you like?”

Reid held up a box. “This seems to list most of my symptoms,” he told her. “But, I really don’t like taking medication of any kind. Temperature is 100.7°” he added.

“Not horribly high,” Heather commented. “And, I don’t blame you,” she continued. “However, you need to get a good night’s sleep if you are going to be able to function tomorrow. It’s a trade off.”

She sat down on the coffee table and watched as Reid started working on the box. “How are you supposed to get this open?” he grumbled. “I feel like I need an atomic bomb just to break into it.”

“Let’s not get that drastic,” Heather took the box from him. “There should be some knives in the kitchen.”

She took the box into the kitchen and soon returned with the end flap hanging open. “Here you go.” She handed it back to Reid.

Reid turned the box on its side and shook out a perforated sheet containing six gel capsules sealed in plastic. “Oh, Great!” he moaned. “I can’t open this either.”

“Let me get my long fingernails on the job,” Heather took the sheet from him. “I know these packages are supposed to be tamper proof, but this appears to be user proof as well!”

Heather opened the back of one of the bubbles containing a capsule and handed the sheet back to Reid. He examined it closely and looked up at Heather. “How difficult do you think it would be to temper with one of these?” he asked her.

“I never thought about it,” she replied. “But, like anything else, if someone really set their mind to doing it, they probably could figure out a way.”

“You said the supply is available to all your employees?” he asked.

“Just the Instructors,” she told him. “It’s kept in the supply cabinet on the second floor, by the individual rooms. This particular assortment, however, has been locked in my room since Tuesday. No one had access to it, except me, of course.”

Reid looked at the individual bubbles. “If one had a really fine needle,” he mused.

“They could easily inject something into one of the soft gel capsules,” Heather continued the thought. “They would have to have a really fine needle, though, and angle it through the bottom joining. Otherwise, it would leave a hole someone might notice.”

“Alex and Morgan did mention that Mr. Blanchard was suffering from a case of the sniffles,” Reid remembered. “If someone gave him a capsule, still in the packaging, to take later on, that would account for the delay in the poisoning.”

“One for the road, so to speak,” Heather joined his train of thought. “That would explain how the poison was administered. Now we just have to figure out why.”

Reid started to get up from his bed. “I really need to let the team know about this,” he declared.

“In the middle of the night? Dr. Reid, It’s almost 3:00 a.m.!” Heather told him. “It’s not as if anyone’s life is in danger. And, you are still feeling miserable. Why don’t you examine the packaging of that pill you have in your hand and then take it? Get a good night’s sleep, and then you and your team can discuss everything in the morning?”

“We don’t know if anyone’s life is in danger,” Reid argued.

“How are we going to determine who could possibly be on the poisoner’s list?” Heather asked. “We have nothing to go on. And, since the last of the pills disappeared over a week ago, I think it is a fair assumption that any poisoned pills would have been taken by now.”

Reid began examining the package he held in his hand. “I guess you’re right,” he conceded. “Let me take this and then see if I can get some sleep. Although I probably won’t be able to sleep - ”

He swallowed the pill and then began rummaging through his books looking for something to read.

“Tell you what, Dr. Reid,” Heather told him. “I haven’t had any sleep either so I’ll make you a bet. I’ll bet I can get you to fall asleep before I do.”

“How do you propose to win?” Reid replied. “I rarely sleep for any length of time. I seem to have a case of chronic insomnia.”

“I have my ways,” Heather was pulling a magazine out of the tote. She held it up. “Today’s Psychological Research,” she declared. “There is always at least one article in here that is snooze worthy. Bet - $5?”

“$5, is that all? You’re on!” Reid told her as he settled down under the blanket.

Heather opened the magazine, checked the index, and found an article that sounded suitably boring. She began reading it aloud to Reid. It didn’t take long before his eyes were closed, and he was softly snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know a whole lot about poisons and pills, so if I got this wrong, I apologize! From a storyline poine of view, It just seemed to work out right.


	23. Chapter 22

Agent Hotchner always woke up early, especially when his team was on a case. He had showered, shaved, dressed, and was putting his tie on when he came out of the bedroom. The first thing he saw was Heather perched on kitchen counter examining her cell phone. The next thing that he noticed was that although she was wearing a more than adequate bathrobe her legs were prominently displayed with high heeled slippers dangling from her toes.

“Good Morning!” he greeted her. “Have you been here all night?”

“Good Morning Agent Hotchner!” Heather greeted him cheerfully. “Sleep well?” 

“Actually, Dr. Reid called me around 2:00 a.m.,” she continued. “Just as I predicted. I brought him an assortment of over-the-counter medications. It probably is a good thing I stayed with him. At just before 3:00 a.m. he thought he had figured out how the poison had been administered, and wanted to wake everyone up to tell them. Would you have preferred I not stop him?”

“That sounds just like Reid,” Hotch gave her one of his rare smiles. “Thank you!”

“Then I made a bet with him as to which of us would fall asleep first,” she told him. 

“Do I want to know who won?” 

Heather laughed. “I did,” she confessed. “Although, I did cheat. I read him a horrendously boring article from a psychology journal. He finally fell asleep about an hour and a half ago. He now owes me some cash!!”

Hotch was amazed. “Reid lost a bet? Reid never loses - He’s from Las Vegas!”

“Well, he lost to me,” Heather declared. “And, for what it’s worth, I have been sitting here ever since beating myself up for not being more observant. I almost have my degree as a psychologist. How could I not have noticed a psychopath in our midst? I know these people. I interviewed and hired most of them. What did I miss?”

“The person we are looking for is a true psychopath,” Hotchner explained to her. “Over the years they have learned the answers to give and the actions to take to blend in. It’s possible that even if you were looking specifically for them, you still wouldn’t have noticed them.”

“That helps,” Heather told him. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better. Now that you’re up, I’ll be on my way just as soon as your breakfast cart has been delivered. The coffee is already on.”

Her cell phone buzzed and she checked the screen. “Here it is!” 

She launched herself off the counter and landed with a slight lurch. Hotch reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her. She put her hand over his and looked up at him. “Thanks,” she said. “I guess I’m a little more tired than I realized.”

Hotch looked at her. “Something is different - “

“I lost the three inch heels,” Heather explained. “I try not to wear them too much, as it tends to shorten the Achilles tendon.”

Opening the door she commented, “Hi Jimmy! What are you doing here so early?”

The young man standing in the hallway smiled. “Good Morning, Miss Heather,” he greeted her. “They were short-handed in the kitchen this morning so I came in early to work there for a few hours. Then, it’s back to my usual job on the grounds.”

“Sounds good,” Heather told him as she signed for the food. “By the way, were you the one who cut the bushes back off the path for me?”

“I worked with Carlos on that,” Jimmy replied.

“Well, you both did an excellent job. Thanks!” she commended him.

As she started rolling the cart into the suite, Hotch moved next to her and took over.

“Let me help,” he suggested as he pushed the cart into the dining area.

“Again, a true gentleman, Heather complimented him. “Thank you. Now, if you’ll let me, I’ll just set up a buffet for your team.”

Hotch began examining the contents of the various dishes. “It looks like you thought of everything.”

Heather smiled at him, “If you will check, Agent Hotchner, I think that under that dome you will find an egg white omelet, with lots of veggies, and whole wheat toast.”

Hotch stared at her. “How did you know?”

“You are a runner, right? I wasn’t sure about the toast - There are some bagels in the bread basket if you prefer them. You may be good, Agent Hotchner, but so am I!”

With Hotch’s help, the buffet was quickly set up and ready for the BAU team, and Heather had checked on the coffee. As she was on her way out the door, she turned and smiled at Hotch.

“By the way, reminded Dr. Reid that he owes me some money. He’ll know what it is for,” she told him. Then, she was gone.

As Heather disappeared out the suite’s door, Morgan came out of the bedroom. He blinked, looked towards the door, and blinked again.

“Am I hallucinating or did the woman of my dreams just walk out of here - In a robe and slippers?” he asked.

“Yes, she spent the night with Reid,” Hotch told him. 

As Morgan stared at him, he tried to recover from the unintended implication. “Reading to him – They were trying to get some sleep.” He hesitated, “I had better eat my breakfast while it is still hot,” he concluded.

Morgan smirked, “Yeah - Right! I am waiting to hear the details on this one!”


	24. Chapter23

Shortly thereafter, the BAU team was up, dressed, and assembled in the dining area trying to quietly eat breakfast. They weren’t entirely successful and Reid soon woke up, wrapped himself in one of The Institute’s bathrobes, and joined them.

“I heard you had an exciting evening,” Morgan opened his inquiry.

“What happened, Spence?” JJ asked. “I saw you got some sleep, but was it enough? Do you need to move back into the bedroom?”

“Our **Dr.** Reid had a visitor,” Morgan smirked. “Maybe he wants to tell us all about it.”

Reid shot Morgan a murderous glance then turned to JJ. “Miss Heather brought me some over-the-counter medicines,” he told her. “And, while examining them I think I figured out how the poison was administered.”

Reid turned to Alex. “I remember you saying Earl Blanchard had a slight case of the sniffles,” he said. “Do you know about Wendell Loomis and Carl Wilson?”

“I don’t remember hearing anything about that,” Alex told him. “But, I can check.” She moved away and started dialing her cell phone.

Hotch’s cell phone buzzed with a text from Garcia. “Trn on comput for confer call!” he read.

“Okay, everybody,” he called out. “This may give us some answers.”

The computer was quickly booted up and Garcia appeared on the screen.

“Good morning to all and sundry,” she started. “I just want you to know that I had to settle for a cold, lonely breakfast this morning in order to get you this information. I hope you all appreciate it!”

“Come on, Baby Girl,” Morgan crooned. “You know you were just in a hurry to see our smiling faces. Now, what do you have?”

“A non-surprise and a kind-of surprise,” Garcia started. She stopped and studied her screen. “What are you eating?” she asked. “Don’t tell me your marvelous caterer brought you a breakfast even better than last night’s dinner?”

“Garcia, what have you got?” Hotch thought it wise not to elaborate on their morning’s menu.

“Let’s start with the non-surprise. Earl Blanchard was definitely poisoned, as was Wendell Loomis. However, since the coroner had to get an exhumation order for Carl Wilson’s body, the results from him will take a bit longer. Also, because of the time involved, both before the body was discovered and since the embalming, those results may not be totally conclusive.”

“What was the poison and do they know how it was administered?” Reid spoke up.

“That’s the kind-of surprise,” Garcia continued. “It was nicotine. Now, I know that smoking kills you, but I didn’t think it worked like this. However, upon checking, I found out that nicotine is an ingredient in some bug killers. Like, what you put on the plants in your garden to get rid of the icky, crawly things that are eating the leaves. Yuck!!!”

“Bug killer?” Alex returned, having completed her phone call. “That points to someone who works with plants, like a gardener.”

“Look around you,” Morgan told her. “We are in an exclusive neighborhood with lots of large lots. Everyone has a garden of some sort.”

“Well, that fits in with what Heather and I were discussing,” Reid interjected. “Garcia, I assume nicotine can be found in a liquid form?”

“That’s why you are a genius,” Garcia replied. “There are multiple liquid forms available on the market. All you have to do is walk into a garden supply store and buy them.”

“Well, that helps a lot,” Rossi commented. “My gardener probably has nicotine bug killer in the shed on my property.”

“Reid?” Hotch prompted. “You said you have an idea?”

“Well, it would take a very fine hypodermic needle and a lot of patience, but a determined poisoner could possibly inject nicotine into the gel capsules used for cold medicine,” Reid started. “If a student had a case of the sniffles and was on their way home, they could just hand it to them to take once they got home.”

There was a knock at the suite’s door and Heather came in holding her cell phone in the air.

“Great, everyone is here,” she declared. “Carlos, our second-in-command for the groundskeepers didn’t show up for work this morning. Very unusual. So, I sent Jimmy over to his apartment to check on him. Jimmy’s on the phone now. Jimmy – I’m putting you on speaker. Tell these guys what you found.”

A scared sounding voice came over the phone. “He’s here and he’s dead. It looks like he threw up a lot first. What should I do?”

Hotchner spoke up, “Jimmy, have you touched anything?”

“Just Carlos – You know, to make sure he was really dead. I’m scared. Do I have to stay here?”

“You did the right thing, Jimmy. Just get out of the apartment and wait for us outside. We’re on our way.” Hotch reassured him.

Morgan and JJ were already gathering their equipment and getting ready to leave.

“Do you have the address?” Morgan asked.

“Right here,” Heather and Garcia answered in unison.

“I’ll send it to your phone,” Garcia promised. “Who is that with you?”

“I’m Heather,” Heather replied as she moved into view of the screen. “You must be Penelope. We spoke on the phone.”

“Oh,” Garcia sounded almost disappointed. “You look different than I expected.”

“Sorry about that,” Heather laughed as she looked down at her skinny jeans and sweater. “I was napping when Jimmy called back and I just threw on whatever I could grab. Cool sweater, by the way.”

“Yours, too,” Garcia responded.

“We’re on our way,” Morgan said as he, JJ, and Rossi prepared to head out the door. “Have the local police been called?”

“Not yet,” Heather told them. “I wasn’t sure, but I thought you might want to see the apartment before they got there.”

“Call them, or rather, have Jimmy call them now,” Rossi instructed her. “Hopefully we’ll both get there at about the same time.”

“Jimmy?” Heather spoke into the phone.

“I’ll call right away,” he replied before hanging up.

“How are your relations with the local police?” Hotch wanted to know.

“Actually, quite good,” Heather told him. “They have been out here a couple of times to handle unruly guests but that’s about it. They know we don’t cause any trouble, and we do contribute to the local economy.”

“Okay. Morgan, JJ, and Rossi head straight to the apartment. Let the locals take the lead, but keep an eye out. Alex and I are going to talk with some of the staff.” Hotch decided.

He then turned to Reid. “How are you feeling?”

Reid sniffled, and managed a weak, “Not too bad.”

“All right,” Hotch told him. “You stay here and go over everything with Garcia. See if the two of you can find out if any of the staff has access to very fine hypodermic needles and/or liquid nicotine. Also, check and see if any of the other students were repeat attendees who crossed paths with any of the victims. I don’t think we ever checked that angle.”

Alex’s cell phone rang and, after checking the display, she answered it. “Alex Blake.”

“Thanks for calling back,” she continued as she walked to a quiet spot in the next room. She was back after a short discussion. “Well, that answers your question, Reid. Wendell Loomis was suffering from a slight cold when he died,” she announced.

“You want to speak with our staff?” Heather asked leading the way out the door. “You’ll need a room. Let me check which of our classrooms is empty.”

Hotch stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Actually, we want to talk to you,” he told her seriously.

“Okay,” Heather replied cautiously. “Let’s go to my office. I have some chairs there we can use.”


	25. Chapter 24

Agents Hotchner and Blake were soon settled on chairs in the small seating area in Heather’s office. Alex looked around. “Do you use this area much?” she inquired.

“I handle the hiring for The Institute,” Heather replied. “So, I do the interviews. Also, I do some counseling for the instructors. As you can imagine, some of them have problems they need to discuss. So, yes, this area does get a fair amount of use.”

“How serious are the problems?” Hotch asked. 

“Not homicidal,” Heather was quick to assure him. “Anyone like that, I would have referred to someone better equipped to deal with it.”

“Let’s start with the latest victim,” Alex progressed. “How long has he been with you?”

“He was already here when I hired in, a little over two years ago,” Heather told her. If you need it, I can get his exact hire date from our personnel files.”

“That shouldn’t be necessary,” Hotch told her. “Tell us about him.”

“Quiet,” Heather remembered. “Dependable. Knew his job and did it well. Got along well with the other members of the grounds crew. I’ve never seen him get really angry with a person. He did get really upset with some moles that got into the lawn last fall.”

“Not someone who would inspire strong emotions one way or the other,” Hotch concluded.

“That’s right,” Heather concurred.

“Did you ever have any problems with him?” Alex asked.

“Never,” Heather declared. “And NO I did not kill him. I never had any problems with any of the other victims, either! I never even met Mr. Loomis or any of the others!”

“What?” Hotch asked, startled.

“It sounds to me like you are on a fishing expedition,” Heather told him. “And, believe me, you’re fishing in the wrong pond! I didn’t kill anyone! Believe it or not, I like my job here. The actual accounting work isn’t too involved, and I have lots of time to do research for my Dissertation. Miss Lilly is great about letting me have time off to meet with my Thesis Advisor and attend her seminars. I even have time to lecture on occasion. Killing dependable employees and good customers is not the way to keep this place in business and to keep my job.”

“We don’t think you killed anyone,” Hotch reassured her. “These are just questions we need to ask.”

“You’re upset,” Alex added. “We understand that. Carlos is the first victim you actually knew. We just need to check some facts and build a timeline. Now, the first poisoning was approximately six weeks ago. Does that coincide with anyone on staff who had a personal problem around then? Or, possibly, a new hire?"

“You’re right,” Heather agreed. “I guess actually knowing one of the victims brought it home for me – Made it real, so to speak.”

“And, no, I don’t know about any personal problems around that time. No one confided any to me. However, about five months ago I did hire a new instructor. She is my most recent hire.”

“Her name is Tasha – Becky Wellman,” Heather continued. “She told me she had recently dropped out of classes at the local community college because she wasn’t finding them relevant. She seemed intelligent, had the required ID, and didn’t have any police record that I could find, so I hired her.”

“Do you know what she was studying?” Hotch asked.

“I don’t remember, let me check her file.” Heather got up and started digging through a file cabinet.

“Here it is – She was studying nursing!”

“Hypodermic Needles!” was all Alex said.


	26. Chapter 25

With Morgan driving and JJ navigating, the other team members managed to arrive at Carlos’ apartment within minutes of the local police.

“FBI,” Morgan showed his badge to the nearest officer. “Who is in charge of this investigation?”

“That would be Detective Freeman,” the officer replied, pointing at the detective. “FBI??”

The agents walked over to Detective Freeman and Morgan again showed his credentials. 

“FBI?” Detective Freeman asked. “What is going on here?”

“This may be linked to some other murders we are investigating,” Rossi told him. “Do you mind if we take a look around?”

“We won’t get in the way of your investigators,” JJ assured him.

“Be my guest,” the detective told them. “We don’t get many murders around here and I can use the advice. I assume if you spot anything you’ll let us know?”

“No problem,” Morgan assured him. Then he pointed to a young man sitting on the front step of the building holding his head in his hands. “Is that Jimmy? The one who found the body?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” the detective said. “Doesn’t seem to know anything, though.”

“Just the same, I think I’ll talk to him,” Rossi said.

“Why don’t you do that while JJ and I check the apartment?” Morgan suggested. “He looks like a scared kid and all of us going over there would probably overwhelm him.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Rossi agreed. “Although, if Detective Freeman is right, it’s most likely a waste of my time. I’ll probably be joining you shortly.”

Rossi walked over and sat down next to Jimmy. “Tough morning,” he commented. “Not everyday you find your boss dead.”

“Yeah,” Jimmy lifted his head and looked at the agent. “This is not what I expected when I got to work this morning.”

“What did you expect?” Rossi asked kindly.

“Well, I got a chance to work inside for a while,” Jimmy told him. “It was just helping in the kitchen and delivering breakfast for Miss Heather, but it was nice. And, Miss Heather is always nice – and nice to look at, if you know what I mean.”

“I get the drift,” Rossi agreed with him. “What next?”

“Then I got a message from Miss Heather asking me to check on Carlos. I came over here and found him. It looked like he suffered. That’s not what I expected.”

“You didn’t expect suffering?” Rossi pursued the comment.

“I – um – I didn’t expect him to be dead,” Jimmy stared at the ground while attempting to clarify his comment. Rossi noticed his constantly tapping foot.

“Okay,” Rossi seemed to accept that response. “Why don’t you wait here? I’ll be right back.”

As he headed into the apartment building, Rossi stopped and spoke to one of the officers standing inside the front door. “Keep an eye on him, won’t you,” he requested. “If he tries to leave, stop him.”

Inside Carlos’ apartment, Rossi called Morgan and JJ over. “I can’t put my finger on it,” he told them. “But I think we need to talk further with Jimmy. He’s hiding something.”

“Let me call Garcia and see what kind of information she can get us on him,” JJ said as she pulled out her phone and started pushing buttons.

“Look at this,” Morgan said, holding up an empty bubble from a pill. “This was in the wastepaper basket in the bedroom. It looks like Reid may be right.”

He handed the pill bubble to one of the local officers searching the apartment. “Bag this,” Morgan told him. “Call us when you get it back to the lab and we’ll tell your lab tech what they need to look for.”


	27. Chapter 26

“Okay, Boy Genius, we are looking for someone with access to very fine gauge hypodermic needles,” Garcia mused. “Any suggestions on where to start?”

“Diabetics come to mind first,” Reid told her. “Although, I don’t know how fine a gauge their needles are.”

“Well, let’s start with that,” Garcia started punching keys on her computer. “Let me look at employees first, and if I don’t find anything I can expand the search to include their immediate families.”

A short time later, Garcia was forced to admit failure on her initial search. “I can’t find anyone who seems to have access to needles,” she lamented. “Now, this second search is going to take a lot longer.”

Reid looked up from reading the psychiatric journal Heather had left behind. “Garcia, you can run two searches at one time, can’t you?”

“Of course,” Garcia replied. “That’s why they call me **fabulous**! What do you have in mind?”

“Besides looking through the relatives of employees, can you also search police records for this area looking for burglaries of pharmacies?” he asked. “The unsub may have stolen the needles.”

“I should have thought of that,” Garcia blamed herself. “Let’s see what I can find.”

After several minutes, Garcia looked at her screen, shook her head, and scowled. “Okay,” she declared. “I didn’t find anything the first time around, let me expanded the search.

While they were waiting for the results of the latest search, Garcia looked through the screen at Reid and whispered, “Are you alone?”

“Well, yes,” Reid told her. “Morgan, JJ, and Rossi are at the crime scene and Hotch and Alex are interviewing The Institute’s employees.”

“Is **SHE** there?” Garcia asked.

“ **SHE** – Do you mean Miss Heather?” Reid asked.

"Yeah, Heather,” Garcia confirmed.

“No. She’s with Hotch and Alex. Garcia, what’s up?”

“Do you think she’s pretty? I mean, really?”

“Garcia!”

“I knew it! You do so think she’s pretty! And she’s smart, I know that. Why don’t you ask her out?”

“Garcia, she wouldn’t be interested in me. Besides, you know the type of person she works with.”

“But, I think she likes you. She showed up at 2:00 a.m., didn’t she?”

She – Miss Heather – Is falling all over Rossi, and he likes it! Also, Morgan has his eye on her. Plus, Hotch helped her set up breakfast this morning. When is the last time he helped with anything like that?” Reid sounded frantic. “Besides, she makes me feel – I don’t know - Weird!”

“Weird - You?!? And, all of them are interested in her? Well, my favorite brainiac, that just means you need to move fast. Whoops – Here’s our answer.”

“Apparently about six weeks ago the local community college filed a report that someone had stolen some of the hypodermic needles they have for the students to practice with. Is that a possibility?”

“That has to be it,” Reid decided. “Let me call Hotch.”


	28. Chapter 27

While Reid was on his cell phone calling their team leader, Garcia received a call on her land line.

“Whatever you want to know, I already have the answer,” she responded.

“I’m sure you do, My Vision of Beauty,” Derek told her. “And, what I need is information on Jimmy. I don’t know his last name, but he works on the grounds keeping crew at The Institute.”

“That compliment, my dear, will get you a home cooked meal when you get back. Give me a minute to organize my thoughts,” Penelope improvised as she punched the keys on her keyboard.

Behind her, she could hear Reid talking with Hotch. “That’s right,” he told their boss. “Hypodermic needles were stolen from the nursing program at the college.”

“All right,” Garcia got the information organized on her screen. “Jimmy Lancer, aged 23, currently employed as a groundskeeper at The Institute of Business Betterment. Okay. Parents still alive. Was enrolled at the local community college but dropped out after three semesters. No criminal record that I can find.”

“Garcia,” Reid called to get her attention. “Check to see if he was at the community college at the same time as a student named Becky Wellman.”

“Checking,” was Garcia’s reply.

“Got it,” she replied after a moment. “If she’s the unsub, that is where their paths crossed, Jimmy’s last semester there was Becky’s first.”

“That has got to be it,” Reid declared. “Hotch, we’ve got the connection.”

“Garcia, tell Morgan to grab Jimmy and bring him back to The Institute and to bring the local police, too. Tell him it is just for questioning,” Reid relayed the message.


	29. Chapter 28

“Morgan,” Garcia began. “Is Jimmy still there?”

“Yeah, he’s still here, right outside,” Morgan told her. 

“Hotch wants you to bring him back to The Institute. Do you think you can do that? Don’t alarm him. Hotch thinks he has some connection to the murders,” Garcia told him.

“No problem!”

Morgan looked over at Rossi and JJ. “Rossi, we need to get Jimmy and convince him to go back to The Institute with us. JJ, tell Detective Freeman to follow us in his car. Hotch agrees with us that Jimmy has some connection to the murders.”

When they walked down to the front door of the apartment building, the first thing they saw was Jimmy, still sitting outside on the steps, talking on his cell phone. Rossi turned to the officer he had spoken with earlier. 

“What is he doing on the phone? Didn’t I ask you to watch him?” he demanded.

“I am watching him,” the officer protested. “You didn’t say anything about his not being allowed to phone anyone.”

Rossi got through the door just in time to hear Jimmy saying, “I didn’t expect it to be like this. You said it probably wouldn’t work! The FBI is here!”

 

Rossi grabbed the cell phone and spoke into it. “Who is this?” he asked. All he heard was a disconnect.

 

He looked down at the scared young man. “Okay, Jimmy,” he said. “You had better stand up. I think we are going to take a ride.”

 

JJ hurried over with Detective Freeman who looked at Jimmy. “Do I need to Mirandize him?” he asked.

 

“Not yet,” Rossi replied. “Right now, Jimmy is just going along to help us with our investigation. Aren’t you, Jimmy?”

 

Jimmy just nodded.


	30. Chapter 29

Hotch clicked off his cell phone. “Morgan, JJ, and Rossi are on their way in with Jimmy,” he announced. “”The detective in charge is following them. Where is Becky right now?”

Heather walked over to her desk and consulted a schedule. “This morning she is scheduled to be in Classroom D, to assist in teaching a class on e-mail etiquette.”

She looked at her watch. “The class should have started about 10 minutes ago.”

Alex turned to Heather. “Do you think you can get her out of class without raising anyone’s suspicions?” she asked.

“Just watch me,” Heather told her as she led the way out of her office and down the hall.

When they got to the classroom, Heather knocked on the door and then opened it. Hotch saw about twenty businessmen seated at tables paying attention to a computer screen the instructor had projected onto the whiteboard at the front of the room. What he didn’t see was Becky.

“Katya,” Heather greeted the instructor. “Where is Tasha? She is supposed to be assisting you this morning.”

The instructor shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. When she didn’t show up I tried calling her room, but didn’t get an answer. So, I just went ahead and started class without her. I wanted to stay on schedule.”

“Okay, thanks,” Heather replied as she closed the classroom door. 

“Where is her room?” Hotch asked.

“Upstairs, fourth door on the left,” Heather quickly replied. “Let me open the downstairs door for you, and then I’ll give you the master key for the instructors’ rooms.”

“You stay down here,” Hotch instructed her. “Don’t let anyone go up. When the rest of the team arrives with Jimmy, you can put them in that empty classroom you mentioned earlier.”

Within minutes, Hotch and Alex were upstairs knocking on Tasha’s door. “Open up, FBI.” Alex thought she might respond better to a female voice.

There was no response, and Alex used the master key to open the door, revealing an empty room. 

“She’s gone,” Hotch declared as he glanced around the room. 

“Doesn’t look like she took anything with her,” Alex commented checking in the closet. “Maybe she is visiting with one of the students.” 

“That should be easy to determine,” Hotch commented dryly.

“Any sign of hypodermic needles or bug killer?” he continued.

Alex was busy going through the room. “Nothing I can see,” she said. “Although, we may want to do a more thorough search later.” 

As they went back down the stairs, Hotch’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “The rest of the team is here with Jimmy.”


	31. Chapter 30

“Tasha - Becky wasn’t in her room,” Alex told the team as she and Hotch joined them in one of the classrooms. “Could she be in one of the student’s rooms?” She addressed the question to Heather.

“I don’t think so,” Heather replied. “Tasha hasn’t billed any private tutoring time since she has been with us. Just to be on the safe side, though, let me check and see if any of our students haven’t showed up for class this morning.” She took out her cell phone and began pushing buttons.

“Private tutoring?” Rossi repeated. 

“That’s how it shows up on the itemized billing when our students check out,” Heather explained, looking up from her phone. “For privacy reasons, you understand.”

“And, yes” she continued. “Our employees do pay all applicable income taxes on everything they earn.”

“Okay –“ JJ seemed confused.

“That’s how they caught Al Capone in the end,” Morgan explained. “Income tax evasion.”

“Hi, Katya,” Heather spoke into the phone. “Just checking to see if any of your students were a no show this morning. Call me back.” She called a second number and left the same message.

“Where else could she be? Do you have any ideas?” Rossi asked Jimmy.

Jimmy shrugged. “She didn’t get along real good with her mom,” he volunteered. “Or her mother’s current husband. She always says that all her friends from high school went away to college and left her behind.”

“What do we know about Becky?” Hotch asked. He took out his cell phone. 

“Reid, are you still on line with Garcia?” he asked when Reid answered. “Have her do a search on Becky Wellman. I’ll hold.”

“She does have a car,” Heather remembered. “Let me send someone to check and see if it is still in the lot.”

“Why don’t we have JJ and Morgan check?” Hotch suggested, looking up from his phone. “If she is still around here and sees someone poking around her car, she’ll probably run. They are better equipped to deal with that possibility.”

“Can you give me a description of the car?” JJ asked as she and Morgan got ready to head out the door.

“Little, red, I think,” was all Heather could remember.

“It’s a 2009 red, Toyota,” Jimmy volunteered. “There is a dent in the front bumper that you can’t miss.”

“That’s what Garcia found,” Hotch confirmed. “She also found that while Becky doesn’t have any criminal record, her stepfather does. He has been imprisoned on several occasions, usually for petty theft.”

“Okay, let’s go,” JJ told Morgan and together they left the classroom.

“Alright, Jimmy, Thanks!” Rossi looked at the young man. “Now, is there anything else you would like to share with us?”

“Yeah, are you and your girlfriend the ones behind this murder?” Detective Freeman demanded.

“She’s not my girlfriend, at least not anymore,” Jimmy gasped. “It was just an experiment. It wasn’t supposed to end up like this.”

“Okay, Son,” Rossi shot a murderous glance at the detective. “Why don’t you tell us what was supposed to happen?”


	32. Chapter 31

“It was Tasha – Becky’s – idea,” Jimmy wanted to make that clear. “She was upset because all her friends got to go off to college and then when they came home they made her feel really dumb when she talked to them. She wanted to show them up.”

“Show them up – how?” Rossi was exercising patience.

“By getting away with something. You know, proving that she could do something they didn’t have the nerve to try,” Jimmy seemed to be searching for the proper words.

“So, she decided to do something?” Rossi had an idea where this was going.

“Yeah. She thought she had a way to make people sick. Then, she could tell everyone about getting away with it and look like she was really smart,” Jimmy seemed uncertain. “No one was supposed to die!”

“Well, they did die. Your boss is dead!” Detective Freeman raised his voice. He was getting angry at the speed of the interrogation and wanted to get to the bottom line as quickly as possible.

“Detective Freeman, why don’t you and I step out into the hallway?” Hotch suggested. “There are some things we need to discuss.”

As soon as they were in the hall, Hotch turned to the detective. “You need to understand that Jimmy is still here voluntarily,” he said. “We don’t want to terrorize him into not talking. Then, you’ll have to arrest him and read him his rights. You know a lawyer won’t let him talk to us.”

“Sorry,” the detective responded. “It’s just hard for me to stand by while he is making up his cockamamie story.”

“In my experience, every story contains several grains of truth,” Hotch told him. “We just have to listen carefully and determine what they are.”

Heather came out of the classroom talking on her phone. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Thanks.”

She turned to Hotch. “That was Katya,” she told him. “All her students showed up for class.” Her phone rang again. “That should be Natasha,” she said as she walked down the hallway.

After a short conversation, Heather returned. “No one is missing from that group, either,” she reported.

Hotch’s cell phone rang and he answered it, “Hotch.” When he looked up at Heather, his face was unreadable.

“You’re sure?” he asked. “Okay. Wait for the local authorities to show up before you search the car.”

Hotch clicked off his cell phone and looked at Detective Freeman. “You had better go out to the staff parking lot,” he told him. “They found Becky. She’s in her car - dead. Apparent suicide. My people would like your permission before they search the car.”  


“Oh, No!” Heather covered her face with her hands and leaned against the wall. “This is **so** not happening!!”

Hotch pulled out his cell phone and made a call, “Alex, have Rossi call a break in there and come out to talk with me. You can stay with Jimmy.”


	33. Chapter 32

“How are you doing with Jimmy?” Hotch asked when Rossi came out into the hallway. 

“He’s one scared kid,” Rossi told Hotch. “I’ve been going slowly because of that. However, he is being careful to lay all the blame on Becky.”

“Well, we’re going to have to speed things up,” Hotch said. “JJ and Morgan just found Becky in her car, dead. All signs point to suicide. We need some definite information, fast.”

“Alright,” Rossi thought for a minute. “Let me start by asking about how the others were targeted and then moving back to Carlos.”

“Is there anyway I can help?” Heather spoke up. “He knows me, and I think he trusts me.”

Rossi exchanged glances with Hotch. “Just having you in the room might have a calming effect on him. Can you sit quietly?” Hotch asked. “And, ask a follow-up question if we signal you to?”

“Listening is what I do best,” Heather told him. “Let’s get started!”

Rossi led the way back into the classroom where Alex was waiting patiently with Jimmy. “Okay, Jimmy,” he said as everyone settled into chairs around the library table. “Let’s start with some basic information. For example, how did you and Becky decide which of the students to target?”

“Target students?” Jimmy clearly didn’t know what Rossi was talking about. “I didn’t - We didn’t - Pick anyone out. Becky just wanted to put the bug killer in random pills and see what would happen. You know, like a scientific experiment.”

“This was an experiment?” Rossi asked. 

“Yeah,” Jimmy affirmed. “Like in science class. She just wanted to see how sick people would get.”

“The other murders? The other victims?” Hotch interjected. “They were just random tests?”

“What other victims?” Jimmy seemed stunned. “There weren’t any others,” he sounded frantic. “Nobody died here.”

Hotch glanced at Heather and nodded.

“Jimmy,” she began quietly. “There were three other men who died; men who had been students here. They died after they had returned to their homes. Also, the officers just found Becky. She was in her car, dead. It looks like she committed suicide.”

Jimmy put his head down on the table and began crying. “She always said she didn’t ever want to go to jail,” he sobbed. “After what her stepfather told her about that place and what happened to him, she never wanted to go there.”

Hotch pulled out his cell phone. “JJ, have Detective Freeman come back in here. He’s going to have to arrest Jimmy Lancer as an accessory to murder.”

As the local police led Jimmy away, he turned to Heather. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I am so sorry!!”

Heather just nodded.

Alex turned to Heather. “You know, Hotch brought you in here because he thought you might be connected to all this,” she told her.

“I know,” Heather replied, sadly.

“And, I am sorry,” Hotch had quietly walked up. “So, so sorry!”


	34. Chapter 33

The BAU team and Heather were all seated in Miss Lilly’s office listening as she spoke on the telephone.

“That’s the story Mr. Maxwell,” she said. “Apparently, it was a couple of employees trying to see if they could get away with murder, literally. No, there is no question about it. The FBI found the needles and the bug killer in her car. You can rest assured we will be instituting a more involved screening process for new employees in the future.”

“Yes, sir, Agent Hotchner and his team are still here. I will be sure to tell them you said that,” she concluded before hanging up the phone.

“Agents, as you heard, that was Mr. Maxwell on the line. He asked me to relay his sincere appreciation for your efforts and your discretion. Personally, I still can’t believe two of our employees were involved in this!”

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice anything,” Heather added. “I didn’t even notice that Becky and Jimmy knew each other. I guess I still have a lot to learn.”

“It takes a lot of practice to be able to profile people,” Alex reassured her.

“And, even then, sometimes, you never are really sure,” Morgan added.

“We are just glad we could stop them before it went any further,” Hotch told the two women.

Miss Lilly stood up behind her desk and walked over to the agents. “On behalf of Mr. Maxwell and The Institute -Thank you again.” She shook hands with everyone. 

“Glad we could help,” Rossi told her.

Heather stood up. “Let me walk you guys out.”

She led the BAU team out the office door, down the hallway, and out towards the staff parking lot.


	35. Chapter 34

“You have no idea how glad I am that the excitement is over,” Heather took a deep breath once they got outside. “Do you guys see stuff like this all the time?”

“More times than we would like!” JJ told her.

As they reached the edge of the staff parking lot, Hotch turned to Heather. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he said. “You helped make this investigation pleasanter than usual.”

“I can’t imagine that any of your investigations are pleasant,” Heather told him. “But, I am glad I could help.” She held out her hand and, after a moment’s hesitation looking into her eyes, he took it and held it.

“Don’t worry about your son,” Heather told him.

“How – ?” Hotch asked.

“It is a son, isn’t it? Heather asked. “You’re working hard to set a good example for him. Don’t worry. I have a feeling you are doing just fine!”

Hotch just stared at her as she took her hand back.

“JJ,” Heather turned to her next. “Thank you. And, please thank Ms. Garcia as well. She really did an outstanding job.”

JJ hugged her. “I have a feeling Penelope is going to want to meet you,” she said. “Is it okay if we call and set something up?”

“Shopping, maybe? I’d really like that,” Heather assured her.

As Hotch and JJ headed toward one of the SUVs, Heather turned to Rossi.

“My hot date?” Heather smiled at him and shared a hug with him.

Rossi smiled ruefully. “I never even got to second base,” he lamented.

“Maybe next time,” Heather promised. Rossi looked hopeful.

“I hear you won a bet with Reid,” Morgan interjected. “What were you betting on?”

“You had better ask Dr. Reid about that one,” Heather smiled and hugged him. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to share with you.”

“You won a bet with Reid?” Blake sounded amazed. “I’m impressed, and I can’t wait to hear about it!” She gave Heather a hug. “See you at my next lecture?”

“Come on, I’m driving,” Rossi declared, leading the way across the lot with Morgan and Blake following.

Reid and Heather were left standing together at the edge of the lot.

Reid glanced at Heather and then looked at the ground. “Do you ever – you know – see people on your own time?’ he mumbled. “Like, when you’re not - working?”

Heather smiled at him. “Anytime I’m not here on the property, I’m on my own time,” she said. “Actually, I have tickets to a lecture this coming Tuesday. It’s for a class I’m taking.”

“Tuesday probably isn’t good,” Reid told her. “I’m trying to get an invitation to attend a presentation at the University on Tuesday.”

“You mean the lecture by Dr. Lauren Michaels, about Recent Studies in Human Sexuality?” Heather asked. “It’s being sponsored by the Psych Department.”

“Uh – Yeah,” Reid stuttered. “But it’s only open to Grad Students, Post-Docs, and faculty.”

“And their guests,” Heather replied. “I have two tickets.”

Reid stared at her in amazement.

Heather smiled and took a business card out of her pocket. She turned it over and showed him something written on the back. “Tell you what, Dr. Reid. This is my personal cell phone number. Think about it and give me a call.”

She tucked the card into his shirt pocket.

“See you around, **Dr.** Reid,” Heather turned and started walking away.

Reid took a step forward and called after her, “It’s – It’s Spencer!”

Heather stopped and did a half turn to look over her shoulder at him. “Then you had better get used to calling me Christine,” she responded.

Standing next to the SUV, Morgan and Rossi exchanged incredulous looks.

Morgan spoke first, “Am I mistaken, or did he just get a date with her?”

“You’re losing your touch, man,” Rossi couldn’t resist rubbing it in. “And so am I!” he muttered to himself as he climbed into the SUV with Morgan and Blake and drove off.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I actually finished this - That is one New Year's Resolution out of the way!
> 
> Please note that I deliberately left Dr. Spencer Reid under the impression that Heather / Christina is a high class call girl. Any suggestions as to how/when/where he should discover the truth?
> 
> Any suggestions and/or criticisms will be gratefully accepted.


End file.
